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Article: Colon cancer & women; Chesapeake, VA, gastroenterologist Patricia Raymond has a message for women: "don't assume you can't get colon cancer because you're a woman.".(AGES & STAGES)
- Article from:
- National Women's Health Report
- Article date:
- June 1, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 National Women's Health Resource Center. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In fact, you're just as likely to develop the disease as any man, disputing the still-held myth that colon cancer is a "man's disease." And you're more likely to develop it as you age, with more than 90 percent of cases diagnosed in those 50 and older. (11)
This year, an estimated 112,340 cases of colon cancer and 41,420 cases of rectal cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and 52,180 people will die from the disease. That makes colorectal cancer the second leading cause of cancer-related death and third most common cancer type in both men and women, accounting for about 10 percent of all cancer deaths. (11) And yet, in most cases it can be prevented ...